Proposed bill would create an emergency contact database for drivers in Indiana

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An Indiana mother is pushing for change at the statehouse. A proposed bill would help law enforcement quickly notify the family member of a loved one involved in a serious accident.

The legislation would create a statewide emergency contact database that would be maintained by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

State Representative Tony Cook (R-Cicero) is sponsoring the bill. He says he was motivated to take action after meeting a mother who wasn’t notified about her son’s tragic car accident until hours after it happened.

Julia Harris lost her only child, Joey, in a car accident back in 2014. She and her husband didn’t know about the incident until 3 hours after and she didn’t get to say goodbye.

Harris serves as the inspiration behind the bill and wants to protect other parents from going through the same ordeal.

"To find out is hard enough, but to find out you could have been with him those hours to be with him to be by his side to at least let him know its ok for him to go. They didn't do that.” Harris said.

Under the house bill, Hoosiers with a driver’s license or a state ID card would need to list one or two adults as their emergency contact. The BMV would create a list on a new website.

Inputting your information in your BMV record would be voluntary, not mandatory.

The proposal passed in the statehouse unanimously. Now, it will head to the Senate.